Gas vs Electric...Your preference?

[wood714]

First house I bought when I was in my early 20's was built in 1882.

It had a coal to gas converted furnace that was monster size, gas dryer, 2 water heaters, and stove.

I hated it probably due to paranoia, when our daughter was born, I swear I thought I smelled gas all the time.

Not the human kind either.

My current house is all electric, and I love it. Highest bill I had this year was $84.73 and that was in January.

 

[Oracle]

When we bought our home it was all electric, it had a huge Blaze King wood stove in the great room. The wood stove was a hassle, go to the mountains, cut and split the wood there. The Forest Service very closely monitored the rigs loaded with wood heading down from the hills and would ticket their own mother. The stove would creosote like a banshee if it was banked down for the night or if we weren't going to be home for a couple of hours.

There is a natural gas line running in front of our home. About once a year or so a semi with a tank trailer backs, yes backs down our road for about 1/2 mile, it is hauling the mercaptan additive to scent the gas. We bought a very nice natural gas stove and took out the wood stove. It was plumbed in with extra fittings if we wanted gas appliances. So, now we have heat from the natural gas stove and the cooking stove is gas too. When we lose power we can cook and keep the home pleasantly warm.

Our average annual expenditure for the natural gas is around $480. Forty or so bucks a month and we are happy as bugs in a rug.

 

[Chik a Boom]

Definitely gas.

Electric is safer; it never leaks and won't explode.

Perhaps. But I fear electricity more-have heard more of cases of electrocution than gas explosions.

Have electric cook top which came with house. Absolutely hate it. So many times have laid a utensil on hot surface or touched the top where it was still hot after turning the knob to off. At least with a flame you know when it's on or off (am blonde and need serious visual aids).

 

[rwsmith]

I don't think that's exactly true.........

A good cook can overcome poor tools.

Electric in its various manifestations is a poor substitute for gas.

You need to try my electric stove. You get the temp right, it turns off, quits cooking completely. Up the temp a notch, everything burns up. It's supposed to be a good one but I hate it.

 

[ralph7]

One of my parent's neighbor's halfway between Arlington and Volga, IA; about 100 last year in Merrimack Valley, MA. Merrimack Valley Explosions | WBUR

The disaster killed one person, injured dozens of others and damaged or destroyed more than 100 buildings in Lawrence, Andover and North Andover.

I'd have been real disappointed if someone didn't dig some kind of gas disaster up.

 

[Cellar Hound]

Long answer....

Like many things, cooktops can come in all different shapes, sizes, and configurations. The typical discussion (like this thread), compares gas to electric.

Both gas and electric obviously provide a heat source. However, how they react with the cookware and contents of a pan is totally different. When adjusted in temperature, gas can quickly change how much heat is applied to a pan. Electric will not change as fast. When you combine this difference with pans that are high conductors (copper, copper core, etc..) the speed of the change in heat is remarkable.

Most chefs that I know prefer gas for the reason listed above. When cooking several different things at the same time you need to have complete control over your heat sources. This is also needed when preparing things that are delicate like cream sauces. One wrong move and it's in the garbage.

In the absence of a gas source, the induction cooktop is typically used. The reaction to heat change is very similar to gas, however since it relies on a magnetic connection to the pan, copper and anodized aluminum cannot be used directly on the surface.

For every day cooking, both gas and electric will work fine. If you are serious about cooking and get involved with complex meals and sauces, gas (or induction) are the preferred method.

It's kind of like the difference between someone picking a gun to go to the range to plink and another picking a gun to go to a competitive match. Most likely, those will be different types of guns.

 

[Kurusu]

Interesting thread.

I prefer cooking over flame. So gas in my case.

 

[jeffrefrig]

Yes, very interesting! I have gas stove, furnace, dryer, & water heater. Here where I live gas is less expensive. Cooking over fire is easier for me/us. Still need electricity to run oven, furnace, & dryer though. This house was built in '50, so I do check all the joints, etc., with my electronic leak detector a couple times a year. Fixed a couple. All piping is exposed in the cellar and to the stove, so I don't worry.

 

[ladder13]

Grew up with gas, moved semi rural and had electric, now back to gas.
Gas is much easier to control the heat.

 

[mike from st pete]

No way would I want an all electric house. Give me gas for heating, hot water and cooking. Electric is for lights and entertainment devises

 

[OLDSTER]

Gas for sure. Much easier and faster to change cooking temperature.

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

Doesn't matter much now but it was a LOT easier lighting a cigarette off a gas burner than an electric burner.
Being from Louisiana, I was raised with gas cooking electrical a/c and natural gas heat. Try boiling crawfish or cook a jambalaya on an electric burner!
I have a natural gas line run to the shed to hook up my outside burner with.

 

[bullmack]

My wife is itching for a gas stove and she'll get one when we do our kitchen remodel this winter. Not sure if it's been mentioned but electric burners don't like pans that are even slightly out of flat whereas a gas burner doesn't really care.

 

[Golphin]

Electric is safer; it never leaks and won't explode.

Unless you get a loose connection or short and then the house burns down.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

Love gas but have electric.
Go figure!
You can tune, throttle that gas.
You are in control!
Electric? Turn the knob and hope for the best.
Prepare for the worse!

 

[A-37]

Oct 2019 (before a gas (NG) line was finally run to our rural street):

Propane (expensive!) kitchen stove
Oil heat
Electric hot water heater
Electric dryer

Now:

Kitchen stove converted to gas
New gas furnace
Electric hot water heater only two years old but will be replaced with a gas
one when the time comes.
New gas dryer
New Generac 22KV whole-house generator operates on NG
Honda 6KV back-up generator in case the gas supply is interrupted.

A noticeable decrease in total utility expenses.

 

[burnshot]

House was all electric except water heater and heater. In the 25 years since we replaced gas heater and gas water heater, installed a gas fireplace, and got a dual stove : gas top and electric oven. Love it
Except
New Gas stoves have a safety valve installed at gas line inlet to stove. If power goes out, the valve closes and no gas goes to the burners. Did not know this until power went out and I could not light gas top. One of the reasons we went with gas stove was because we lose power a lot.
So "NO" light with a match.

 

[DeathGrip]

I like gas but have electric. It's not worth changing to me.

I live in Florida and don't need a heater but once and a while I do break out a small oil filled electric to keep the chill off.

As you can see, Every ones needs aren't the same because of location. Some of you northern folks don't have AC's, yikes!

I have both gas and charcoal for outdoor cooking. Gas gets more use because I'm lazy and can use it under the covered screen porch and don't have to worry about rain.

 

[BearBio]

As someone who cooks a lot, hosts dinners, and enjoys it: GAS ALL THE WAY!

 

[johngalt]

If they are doing what you describe, what I call gross pulse width modulation (PWM), then it is a rubbish design. PWM done right should work very well, although it has to be done right or there would be all kinds of nasties fed back into the house power.

PWM is the only way to go because ramping the voltage up and down is difficult without some form of adjustable transformer, which are bulky and expensive. If you tried to regulate the current by rheostat the heat you don't want has to be dumped somewhere, and you still use the same amount of energy.

TL;DR, gas regulators are easier and cheaper to make than devices for 220 V AC.

Mom likes those glass top electric stoves, she had one for years. When trying to heat something up at low to medium heat, you could see the burner cycle on and off. Glow red for a few seconds, shut off. Glow red, shut off. It is supposed to be an energy efficient design, for the reason you stated. But a lousy way to heat up a pan.

Then she got an induction stove. Same thing. You can hear it hum when it cycles on, then 'click', it turns off. Repeat.